Ethersync

Ethersync aims to enable real-time collaborative editing of local text files. Similar to Etherpads, it facilitates multiple users to work on content simultaneously, enabling applications such as shared notes or pair programming.

Try the program in a shell

Install Nix
Arch Linux
Bash
$ pacman --sync --refresh --noconfirm curl git jq nix
Debian
Bash
$ apt install --yes curl git jq nix
Ubuntu
Bash
$ apt install --yes curl git jq nix

Download a configuration file

# default.nix
{
  ngipkgs ? import (fetchTarball "https://github.com/ngi-nix/ngipkgs/tarball/main") { },
}:
ngipkgs.demo-shell (
  { pkgs, ... }:

  {
    programs.ethersync.enable = true;

    programs.vscode = {
      enable = true;
      # vscodium because vscode is unfree
      package = pkgs.vscodium;
      extensions = [
        pkgs.vscode-extensions.ethersync.ethersync
      ];
    };

    programs.neovim = {
      enable = true;
      configure = {
        packages.ethersync = {
          start = [
            pkgs.vimPlugins.ethersync
          ];
        };
      };
    };
  }

)

    Download

    
  

Enable binary substituters
Bash
```
$ export NIX_CONFIG='substituters = https://cache.nixos.org/ https://ngi.cachix.org/
trusted-public-keys = cache.nixos.org-1:6nchdd59x431o0gwypbmraurkbj16zpmqfgspcdshjy= ngi.cachix.org-1:n+cal72roc3qqulxihpv+tw5t42whxmmhpragkrsrow='
```
Build and run a virtual machine
Arch Linux, Debian Sid/Trixie and Ubuntu 25.04
Bash
$ nix-build ./default.nix && ./result
Ubuntu 24.04/24.10
Bash
$ rev=$(nix-instantiate --eval --attr sources.nixpkgs.rev https://github.com/ngi-nix/ngipkgs/archive/master.tar.gz | jq --raw-output)

$ nix-shell -I nixpkgs=https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/archive/$rev.tar.gz --packages nix --run "nix-build ./default.nix && ./result"
Usage Instructions Ethersync enables real-time collaborative editing of local text files. To test, first create a directory with a subdirectory named `.ethersync` and run `ethersync share`, wait a few seconds it will print the secret key that can be used to connect to this server. Next, create another directory with a subdirectory named `.ethersync`, run `echo peer="" >.ethersync/config`, then `ethersync join`. The two directories are now connected. You can now edit files in one directory and the changes will be synchronized in the other. If you use Neovim, the instance in this shell has also been configured with the Ethersync plugin, so you can try using :EthersyncInfo and :EthersyncJumpToCursor.

Options

programs.ethersync

: Whether to enable Ethersync.

Type:

boolean

Default:

false
: The ethersync package to use.

Type:

package

Default:

pkgs.ethersync

Examples

Enable Ethersync

{ pkgs, ... }:

{
  programs.ethersync.enable = true;

  programs.vscode = {
    enable = true;
    # vscodium because vscode is unfree
    package = pkgs.vscodium;
    extensions = [
      pkgs.vscode-extensions.ethersync.ethersync
    ];
  };

  programs.neovim = {
    enable = true;
    configure = {
      packages.ethersync = {
        start = [
          pkgs.vimPlugins.ethersync
        ];
      };
    };
  };
}

    
    
  

This project is funded by NLnet through these subgrants:

Ethersync